It has to be 31 year old musician Dhani Harrison (son of late George Harrison) For being so good looking, just as his father! and because I’m a sucker for The Beatles!

Brainwashed

George Harrison

2002

Dark Horse / EMI

Today, November 29th, marks the anniversary of the day George Harrison died.  And, following my own rules, I must listen to nothing but his music (including The Beatles and Travelling Wilburys), except for when I have to listen to something else (I have to go to work today, and I’m sure the radio station we have on isn’t going to respect my rules).  Nonetheless, I have to admit that I haven’t listened too much of Harrison’s later solo work.  I love All Things Must Pass, and a few songs here and there, but overall I was never able to fully get into his stuff. 

This could be because of overtly religious tones on much of his work, or the idea of it (seeing as I don’t really know).  And, indeed on Brainwashed there are many religious references, though the album is not bogged down by this.  Actually, Harrison’s posthumous release (Harrison died in 2001, the album came out in 2002) doesn’t feel to be too spiritual, instead it’s steeped more in his love of music than anything else.  The opening of the album lets us hear George speaking, “Give me plenty of that guitar” (most likely speaking to whoever was mixing his session on that day – err, not mixing but, you know what I mean since I can’t think of the right word).  This opening statement provides a symmetrical balance to his life; as a child Harrison was enamored with the instrument, even drawing pictures of it during school.  I point this out – not as any insight into Harrison’s mind or life – but because I’m an English major who loves seeing symmetry in life, and stories coming full circle.  Still, it is an interesting touch to the beginning of the album.

The opening track, “Any Road” shows excellent slide guitar work, a style that Harrison used during his solo career, perfecting it.  The song is extremely catchy, offering great harmonies during the chorus.  This is not to mention that Harrison, being one member of The Beatles, knows how to craft a song.  The middle eight even features a jump in the key, changing to a minor.  Brainwashed was written and recorded sporadically since the late-80’s, and this song was one of the first to be written.  Strangely, the album is stylistically mainly the same – a hard idea to accomplish over that amount of time – and this song is a great opening track to ease one into the release.

“P2 Vatican Blues (Last Saturday Night)” is one of the most religious based songs, but it’s just so damn upbeat and catchy, the context barely matters.  The intro has a winding guitar line, leading directly into Harrison’s enthused vocals.  The audience can tell the amount of time that went into this song, just fro counting the number of guitars – I hear four, not including the bass.  And each in turn melts into each other, a great mixing job.  But Harrison had some of the best working on this – himself (for one), Jeff Lynne (from Electric Light Orchestra), and his son Dhani (who has since been extremely accomplished in his own right).

“Pisces Fish” is my least favorite track, and probably the weakest, or one of them at least.  It’s a mainly acoustic song, that forgoes Harrison’s slide guitar for himself humming, which doesn’t really work.  The melody is horrible, and his voice has an awful quality.  Which, I guess, could be due to the fact that much of the work on this album was done in the two years before he died, and that he suffered from throat cancer and lung cancer.  But it sounds more like he’s emulating Dylan, and the song doesn’t work either way.

The next two songs, “Looking for my Life” and “Rising Sun,” both are very enjoyable and catchy.  However, within the context of the album, they come off as just filler songs.  The first offers great harmonies, and even better lyrics (“I never knew that life was loaded” conjures up so many images in my head).  The second, has Harrison’s slide guitar almost dissolves into the soundscape.  Although this is the weaker of the two, it at least has strings playing on it, creating a darker sound.

“Marwa Blues” is a beautiful song, completely instrumental.  The slide guitar here is the epitome of what slide guitar should sound like.  It is perfect.  The echo effect and reverb on it are amazing, which is countered by the soft strings in the background.  The song did actually win a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental and for good reasons.

“Stuck Inside a Cloud” follows “Looking for my Life” and “Rising Sun” as a filler.  However, an acoustic twelve-string is heard, creating a different sound.  It’s a very introspective song, and Harrison’s voice creates a very soothing tone.  It’s a very enjoyable song.  However, it is greatly, greatly overshadowed by the next two.

These two are “Run So Far” and “Never Get Over You,” extremely beautiful songs, and two of my favorites.  The first is more up-tempo, and very catchy.  The verses seem to slow themselves down, almost to a halt, before the bridge and chorus pick them back up again.  The chorus does, in actual fact, have great harmonies and a cool guitar line that offsets them.  The ending has a variation on Harrison’s humming from “Pisces Fish” however, now it seems sincere.

The second of the two, “Never Get Over You,” is a better song, maybe my favorite on the album.  The guitar lines are perfect, and Harrison’s voice is ethereal and soft.  The song, is perhaps strangely, a straightforward love song, and it sounds fresh coming from George, almost reminiscent of “Something.”  The harmonies during the verse keep this mood up, particularly on “So deep this feeling I have for you” (and other related lines) where the backup vocals come in halfway through the line.  This could be the best song on the album, which I’d count to be one of his best love songs the way it’s so cautiously arranged and meticulously constructed.

The next song is an old standard, “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.”  The song begins with a false start, followed by Harrison’s bouncy count-in.  To go off topic for a moment, I’m going to contrast this to his earlier work – particularly “Taxman” from Revolver.  There, Harrison had a creepy tone to his voice during his infamous count-in.  Now, this song features him almost giddy, and the tone of his ukulele emulates that.  While the song isn’t great, it’s different and deserves a treated respect for this.  The acoustic guitar solo, followed by the piano solo are also upbeat, and serve as a decent setup for Harrison’s vocals toward the end.  The only problem with the song, is the ending call-and-answer aspect, which comes off as really cheesy.

I’m going to skip over “Rocking Chair in Hawaii” because it’s a thoroughly boring song, and I don’t feel like listening to it.

The last song, “Brainwashed” is a harder song, the most rocking one on here (at least during the first half).  It is a mainly cynical song, listing many things that have brainwashed the general populace (kind of like Lennon’s song “God” – which is probably the exact opposite of this song.  While Lennon is basically saying he only believes in himself, Harrison is saying God is the only thing that can be believed – bringing back the religious aspect of his music).  Shortly into the song (not even two minutes in), the song completely changes to an Indian raga before changing back.  This comes back at the end, when you hear two voices chanting.  In fact, it’s George and his son Dhani together.  Which is kind of touching, thinking about it.  While, if one is not into this sort of thing, “Brainwashed” will be shut off before this comes in, you still have to deal with Harrison’s fondness for Indian culture and music.  He was the main creative force for introducing it into mainstream culture in the ‘60’s.  And ending his last album on the mood fits in perfectly with this idea.

So, with work done by Dhani and Lynne after the passing of George, Brainwashed caps off his legacy perfectly.  The album features some great lyrics, winding guitar lines, cool arrangements, touching songs, Indian ragas, religious overtones, and catchy songs.  Most importantly, the album is easily accessible.  Harrison was one of the most influential musician’s of modern rock music, and Brainwashed completely shows this off. 

Buy This Album

Official Site

Activating star power in Guitar Hero by throwing a mean shape is fun and all, but can you imagine your avatar going bat-shit crazy in real-time, copying your moves as you jump around like a lunatic to the end of Free Bird? If anything it’s a funny image, but one that could be a reality in Guitar Hero 6.

In an interview with the Seattle Times, Guitar Hero founder Kai Huang confirmed that Neversoft were exploring the possibilities of integrating Natal into the next game, which will be due for release next Autumn.

Check out some choice quotes below the jump and a scoop on what rival series Rock Band will be up to for its third instalment. (Cheers to VG247 for the initial find!)

Here’s the short-short version of what Guitar Hero founder Kai Huang said in the interview:

“We haven’t made any specific announcements of what we’re doing with new technologies in Guitar Hero 6 and beyond, but one of the areas we’re exploring certainly is camera technology and what you can do — track your movements and maybe have your characters on the screen do certain things you’re doing, or personalize it more so it can look more like you on stage rather than just be an avatar,” he said.

“There are a lot of possibilities that technologies like Natal will bring, and we’re definitely exploring those possibilities.”

Meanwhile Dhani Harrison, told the Chicago Tribune that Harmonix were going for a much more realistic feel with Rock Band 3:

“I’m working on Rock Band 3 and making the controllers more real so people can actually learn how to play music while playing the game,” Harrison told the paper. “Give me a couple years, it’s going to happen”.

All together now – ‘WHEN TWO TRIBES GO TO WAR!!!’ Is that in Rock Band? No? Ah well….

On Saurday, November 14th, I had one of the greatest nights of my life! I saw thenewno2 and Wolfmother at the State Theater! YAY!!! They were so amazing!

thenewno2 is one of my favoritest bands of all time! There are only two people in the band; Dhani Harrison and Oli Hecks. Dhani is George Harrison’s son. But they add, like, three people when they tour. Yeah! thenewno2 is a blues-elecro alternative band. My favorite song by them is Another John Doe. And the video is pretty wicked too! Check it out! Actually, all the videos that they have are wicked. So check ALL of them out!

I’ve heard off the band Wolfmother and heard three of their songs, but ever since that fatefull day, I can’t stop listening to them! I even went out and bought their first CD! And it’s amazing! Andrew Shockdale is one of the coolest people ever. He’s the singer and lead guitar player for Wolfmother. He went into the crowd twice and people kept giving him drinks when he was on stage! How awesome is that? Now I need a time machine to go back to that night…

Last night I went to my first rock show in Salt Lake City since moving to Utah. A few weeks ago I found out that thenewno2 was finally touring outside of California and almost immediately scooped up a ticket. thenewno2 is a band led by Dhani Harrison, son of my man George Harrison. He was the last Beatle/Beatle spawn I needed to see to complete the quartet. So that was my first taste of EPIC last night.

(As a side note, I bought two tickets, and couldn’t find anyone to use the second. I’m not doing that again. If the trend of not-going-to-shows-with-Amanda-Mae-despite-the-awesome-time-she-has continues as it has since I left Charleston, fine. But I’m not wasting my money anymore.)

I was pleased to be among the first people in line. Just like the good ole days. This also meant I was front row inside the venue, right at the barricade. (My position shifted from Stage Jonny to Stage Jay and back, for those who know what I’m talking about.) I made friends with the guys next to me, who told me about the incredible Les Claypool shows they’ve been to at The Depot, and how one of them wailed on some other dude for spitting in his face. They warned me that being at the barricade could be hazardous, which I didn’t pay much mind to. I also found out they were Mormon. Let me tell you, there’s nothing more entertaining to me that hardcore metal fans who happen to be Mormon.

I got the shivers when thenewno2 took the stage. This is the progeny of one of my idols! And he looks and sings just like his dad! Come to think of it, every member of his band looked like somebody else. His bassist looked like my friend Ash, his guitarist looked like Leon Russell, his keyboardist looked like Allen Ginsberg, and his drummer looked like Stanley Tucci in Undercover Blues. “My name is Muerte! My name means death!” And Dhani looked like George in the early 70s, but with skinny jeans and hi-tops. Oh, and a little shorter.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with the music. I’ve been following Dhani’s career for a few years now, and his music has evolved quite a bit in that time. It was kind of like the White Stripes but with more electro-pop thrown in. Dhani was even singing through a megaphone at one point. Not sure I would have liked it if I didn’t have the emotional connection, but just the same I really enjoyed myself. That was the closest I’ll ever get to seeing George Harrison perfrom in this life, so I milked it for all I could. They only played five or six songs, but I think they were well received.

The next band up was Heartless Bastards. Just the name alone garnered interest, as you can imagine. I wasn’t sure what to think once I found it was a female-fronted band – those can be really bad. But this chick had a fantastic voice and the energy on-stage was electric. Had I gone in totally blind to the music, HB would probably be my new favorite band at the end of the night. Didn’t end up getting their CD, but it’s on my list now.

Then the famed Wolfmother took the stage. And that’s when the crowd started to push me up against the barricade. Some drunk blonde chick and her friend pushed their way to the front and proceeded to thrash dance the rest of the night. I have the bruises to prove it. Some young dude was with them the whole time, too. Couldn’t tell if he was son, boyfriend, or beard. And he kept elbowing me, too! The crowd only intensified with each song. When you’re very literally stuck up at the barricade, there’s nothing to do but when-in-Rome it and headbang along with the rest of them.

Warching and listening to Wolfmother made me wonder if they’re like what a late 60s Led Zeppelin show must have been like. (I wonder if Miss Pamela Des Barres has seen them?) I did recognize some songs, like “Apple Tree” and “Woman” from their debut from a few years back, so that was nice. That Andrew Stockdale is one amazing performer with EPIC hair. One of the best Jew Fros I have ever seen, outside of that one guy from Second Shift. And even though I’m not the biggest metal enthusiast, and mosh pits are nit my forte, I had an absolute ball.

At the end of the night I bought thenewno2’s album, and got the guy who looked like my friend Ash and the guy who looked like Allen Ginsberg to sign it. I would have waited at the tour bus like a true groupie, but I had to open at work this morning, and had an hour’s drive home – alone. So I shall trust Fate that Dhani and I will cross paths again, and hopefully by that time I’ll have something more (and less creepy) to say than, “I’m your dad’s biggest fan and I think you’re hot.” Which is totally what I would have said.

Το Rock Band 3 θα μας μάθει να παίζουμε μουσική – Gameover.gr

Σε μία συνέντευξη του στη Chicago Tribune, ο Dhani Harrison, γιος του εκλιπόντος μέλους των Beatles, George Harrison, αποκάλυψε πως όχι μόνο εργάζεται πάνω στο Rock Band 3, αλλά ότι η σειρά αλλάζει πλέον κατεύθυνση. Η ανακοίνωση πως ένα τρίτο Rock Band βρίσκεται υπό ανάπτυξη, προκαλεί έκπληξη μόνο σε αυτούς που κάθε πρωί ανοίγουν το παράθυρο τους και ξαφνιάζονται από το φως το ηλίου.[next]

 

Yesterday I got to see RZA at a bookstore…. yeah, I missed most of it, but caught the very last 3 minutes of it and that alone was enough to completely make my week. I could honestly listen to RZA talk for hours. I really love him. Like, a lot.

I know I have posted this before, but here he is talking about sampling a George Harrison song. The BEST part of this is when his wife calls….

ps- thanks to the boys of clicker.com for supporting & encouraging my RZA stalking.

Thenewno2 is George Harrison’s kid Dhani’s band. You know how we feel about spawn – aside from Amy Allison and Jakob Dylan, it’s awfully slim pickings. But this guy and his third-wave garage band actually rock, and can write a tune. They’re on tour starting at the end of October opening for Wolfmother, who sound like the Arctic Monkeys doing the Spinal Tap thing and will at least make you laugh.

10/29 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
10/30 – Austin, TX – Stubbs BBQ
11/2 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
11/3 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte
11/4 – Washington, DC – 9:30 club
11/6 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
11/7 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
11/8 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
11/9 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
11/11 – Toronto, ON – Kool Haus
11/12 – Pontiac, MI – Clutch Cargo’s
11/13 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theater
11/14 – Minneapolis, MN – State Theater
11/16 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theater
11/17 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
11/19 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
11/20 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theater
11/21 – Vancouver, BC – Queen Elizabeth Theater
11/23 – Oakland, CA – Fox Oakland Theater
11/24 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
11/25 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern

I saw the Beatles on TV in their first Ed Sullivan appearance, (don’t do the math), and immediately after, packed away my dolls and stuffed animals, thinking I was mystically and forever altered. Four score and five years later, I know I was right.

So the gargantuan marketing efforts surrounding the latest evolution of The Beatles — from the ‘Yellow Submarine,’ psychedelic animation of my youth, to the video game CG world of today’s faux Rock Band — has set off a deep, tearful nostalgia in me.

If watching ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and ‘Help’ doesn’t have much of an emotional impact on you, then you were born too late, and you have my sympathies. Because growing up with The Beatles was a gift of incredibly lucky timing that subsequent generations have not experienced.

I try to explain to my kids that they missed something so profound and important! And that years from now, they’re not likely to hear a L’il Wayne song or see a video of some American Idol winner and feel like they want to cry.

To snap myself out of my VH1-induced melancholy, I started thinking about how remarkable it is that these immortals — original symbols of teen-aged rebellion and harbingers of a generation gap that would last for decades — ended up with seemingly decent and loving kids.

And since most celebrity children are doomed to over-exposed and underachieiving lives, the Beatle children are all the more remarkable for their semi-anonymity. The ones that have gained notoriety, seem to have done so with a bit of talent and dignity.

Zak Starkey

Ringo’s son by his first wife is a solid drummer himself, and has given his father’s contemporaries, the two remaining members of The Who, a way to successfully keep performing without their beloved Keith Moon.

Stella McCartney
A respected clothing designer who hangs out with movie stars, her only real tabloid splash came when she was quoted as being critical of her father’s second wife.

Dhani Harrison

His shy performances and touching interviews for ‘The Concert for George,’ the 2002 tribute, were made even more moving by his startling resemblance to his dad.

Sean Lennon
Mostly seen performing with his band or dining with his mother.

There can’t be any superlatives that haven’t already been used to discuss The Beatles — as a group, as individuals, as the phenomenon.
But, just in case: nice kids.

I’m feeling quite ill. No really, I am. I think I’m developing a case of H1N1, or Dengue Fever or a flare-up of Wolfman’s Syndrome. Whatever the sickness is, let me give my official notice now –  I’m going to be way too sick to work on September 9.

Okay wait, that’s not entirely true.  I will be in before the sun comes up to get in what is undoubtedly going to be great reviews for Focus Features upcoming release of the Tim Burton produced film 9.

But after the reviews are all in for 9, take note…

I am going to be really sick.  Sick for days maybe!  While I’m home eating chicken soup and convalescing, I will be playing this:

Harmonix Music Systems, MTV Games, Electronic Arts and Apple Corps are not the only one to score BIG with the release of THE BEATLES: ROCKBAND!  Fans of the Fab Four’s music are in for a huge treat with a game that features:

• 45 tracks from the Beatles’ catalog for multi-game play
• 3-part harmony vocal training
• Settings in venues such as The Ed Sullivan Theater, Shea Stadium, the rooftop concert for “Get Back,” Abbey Road Studios, Budokan and the Cavern Club.
• New themed instrument controllers available for separate purchase, including a Rickenbaker 325 wirless guitar controller, a Gretsch Duo-Jet wireless guitar controller, a Beatles branded Ludwig drum kit controller and a Hoffner bass controller. 
• A lengthy catalog that will be released over time for continued game play.

I cannot even imagine the insane amount of legal wrangling it must have taken to get this game to market.  Rumor has it that in February 2008 a five-song game demo was presented to the Olivia and Dhani Harrison, Yoko Ono, and Ringo Starr, who all gave a “thumbs-up” on the concept.  Then on to Paul McCartney.  After viewing the demo in his London office, McCartney reportedly gave everyone a sprig of lavender in a glassine envelope as a parting gift.

The current track listing for The Beatles: Rockband is:

“And Your Bird Can Sing”
“Back in the U.S.S.R.”
“Birthday”
“Can’t Buy Me Love”
“Day Tripper”
“Dig a Pony”
“Do You Want to Know a Secret”
“Eight Days a Week”
“Get Back”
“Here Comes the Sun”
“I Am the Walrus”
“I Feel Fine”
“I Saw Her Standing There”
“I Want to Hold Your Hand”
“I Wanna Be Your Man”
“I’ve Got a Feeling”
“Octopus’s Garden”
“Paperback Writer”
“Revolution”
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”
“Taxman”
“Twist and Shout”
“With a Little Help From My Friends”
“Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows”
“Yellow Submarine”
“Boys”
“A Hard Day’s Night”
“I’m Looking Through You”
“Ticket to Ride”
“Drive My Car”
“Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”
“Getting Better”
“Good Morning”
“Hello, Goodbye”
“Hey Bulldog”
“Dear Prudence”
“While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
“Helter Skelter”
“Something”
“Come Together”
“Don’t Let Me Down”
“I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”
“I Me Mine”
“If I Needed Someone”

I think I may be hard pressed to actually PLAY the game very well the first few times around.  Have you seen some of  the screen shots for this game?  The CGI looks amazing, and most definitely is going to be something I am going to just want to sit and watch before I actually get down to the business of watching the on-screen fret board while I try hard not to butcher some of favorite songs!  Take at a look at some of the game screen shots below, or check out some really great screen shots at The Beatles: Rockband Facebook page.

As someone named after a Beatle’s song, I grew up listening to my mother play their music.  My kids have spent lots of time listening to me play the same songs, but from an iPod instead of a fly turntable.  Coming home last night from work, my son was waiting for me at the door, ready to show me another trailer for the game.  I find it very satisfying that my kids are just as excited to play the game as I am.  And my mom?  Well, she’s ready to come sit and watch us play while she gets to see her favorite band’s music presented in an brand new way.

Click on the picture below to see a look at the “Revolution” video from The Beatles: Rockband.  Or check out the great looking game trailer posted below!

While you are at it, why don’t you leave me a comment.  Tell me, who is your favorite Beatle? Your favorite Beatle’s song? I’m a George lover.  My favorite song?  That is a tough one because I like so many.  “Michelle” should be, but my personal favorites include:  “Golden Slumbers,” “She’s Leaving Home,” “Blackbird,” “Run For Your Life,” “Something,” “Don’t Let Me Down” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

Concert for George

Aproveitando o embalo do dia internacional do rock, decidi compartilhar o meu editorial favorito, ‘Here comes the son’ fotografado por Steven Meisel para o suplemnto outono/inverno da Fashion Rock em 2008.

O editorial foi inspirado na história de amor do meu beatle favorito George Harrison e Pattie Boyd, uma das mulheres mais desejadas do mundo do rock.

Sasha Pivovarova é Pattie Boyd e Dhani Harrison, George Harrison. A semelhança de Dhani com seu pai, George, é incrível.

Dhani Harrison diz: “Quando eu comecei a ficar mais velho, meu pai disse, ‘Você se parece mais com George Harrison que eu.’”. (L)

Dhani Harrison é filho de Geoge Harriosn com a Olivia Trindade Aires.

Fotógrafo: Steven Meisel
Modelos: Sasha Pivovarova e Dhani Harrison
Editor: Edward Enninful
Hair Stylist: Guido Palau
Makeup:  Pat McGrath
Fashion Rocks 2008 – Fall/Winter

I meant to blog about this yesterday but I was so tired that it completely slipped my mind. Not to worry, it hasn’t lost any of its relevance (well relevance being subjective in this case as I’m sure in the grand scheme it wasn’t that relevant to begin with). Anyway, I would like to talk about the new addition to the Walk of Fame – a star for George Harrison on tuesday. Now I know, having a star on the Walk of Fame doesn’t really mean much these days but I do have to say that it is a nice sentiment to include George Harrison among the (what is it, hundreds? thousands?) of showbusiness people to receive a star. A lot of people are upset that George got a star and not Paul McCartney. Well, let me tell you why I think the people that decide who gets a star (the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce methinks?) made the right decision.

1. George is dead - Come on, it had to be said. He is dead, Paul is alive and seemingly pretty well. He still has enough time in his life to get one.

2. George was always under-appreciated – People really undervalue his contribution to the Beatles. Not only was he a great guitar player (# 21 of Rolling Stones’ 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time) but also a great songwriter. George Martin himself said that his biggest regret about working with the Beatles is that he didn’t encourage George to write more songs. ‘Nuff said.

3. Paul was already knighted. Many would say that’s a much higher honour. What does he need a star on the Walk of Fame for?

4. Paul has actually admitted that George was a better musician than he was, even at the age of 13.

5. For a long time George was actually the most successful solo Beatle. He also had the first #1 hit with “All Things Must Pass”, way before any of the other Beatles did (I wanna say Ringo never has).

6. George was the best looking Beatle . Ok, fine this is not a real reason, but it should be. He was always my favourite, with that angel face.

Now, I’m sure there’s more reasons and none of them are probably all that important but what I really wanted to say is that George is very deserving of his star and if Paul is really as awesome as I hope he is, he doesn’t care that George got a star before him. I mean, come on, there are more important things to worry about. 

The actual ceremony and unveiling of the star was a very nice affair with Paul, Olivia and Dhani Harrison, Eric Idle and Tom Hanks in attendance among other famous faces. The presenter seemed a little out of place and like he didn’t exactly know who this George Harrison really was but he wasn’t really the focus. Eric Idle’s speech had just the right amount of wit combined with some heartfelt words that it surely made anyone smile. Tom Hanks’ speech was short and surprisingly eloquent and memorable. At that point, I was already tearing up but then watching Olivia Harrison pay tribute to her late husband as Dhani (who incidentally needs a hair cut) stands by just pushed me over the edge and it suddenly got very very dusty in the room. Wow, I’m making it sound like I was actually there (I wish!) but you can actually find all the important parts and more info here. Needless to say, George is a legend and as Tom Hanks said during that short but sweet speech “‘All things must pass”, sure, but George is gonna live forever.” And by god, he is right.

Die legendäre Band “The Beatles” hat sich wiedervereint! Wie heute von Paul Mc Cartney und Ringo Starr bekanntgegeben wurde, wird man schon im nächsten Monat ein neues Album mit dem Titel “Again” in drei Formaten (CD, Vinyl, Mp3) herausbringen. Die Plätze von John Lennon und George Harrison werden dabei von Lennons Sohn Sean und dem Schauspieler / Musiker Jack Black eingenommen. Black sagte dazu:

Endlich wird mein Traum wahr! Ich werde die Gitarrenparts übernehmen und freue mich sehr darauf, in die Fußstapfen von George Harrison treten zu dürfen!

Weniger erfreut hingegen zeigte sich Harrison Sohn Dhani:

Warum ausgerechnet Jack Black? Ich habe mich doch immer wieder für diesen Job angeboten. Anscheinend wird mein Vater nicht als wichtig erachtet.

Auf der Pressekonferenz wurden Pläne für die kommende Beatles Tournee bekanntgegeben. Man plane auch, in Deutschland aufzutreten.